Confident India ready for AFC U-17 qualifying campaign

The
Group
D
campaign
has
already
gotten
underway,
with
Kuwait
and
hosts
Saudi
Arabia
defeating
the
Maldives
and
Myanmar,
respectively;
both
matches
ended
with
a
margin
of
6-0
in
favour
of
the
victors.

India
head
coach
Bibiano
Fernandes
feels
that
his
boys
are
confident,
heading
into
their
first
game
of
the
qualifiers

“We
are
confident
that
we
can
put
out
good
performances
in
these
qualifiers.
It
is
a
completely
new
batch
our
course,
and
these
boys
have
not
had
as
much
exposure
as
the
last
two
batches
due
to
COVID,
but
they
are
still
a
bunch
of
talented
boys
who
have
come
a
long
way
since
we
began
the
camp
in
February,”
said
Fernandes.

Maldives
may
have
lost
their
first
match
0-6
against
Kuwait,
but
Fernandes
feels
that
his
boys
will
start
from
square
one
against
them,
and
that
they
would
have
to
be
on
their
guard.

“We
have
seen
Maldives
in
the
SAFF
U-17
Championship
in
Sri
Lanka,
and
in
yesterday’s
match
as
well.
They
have
lost
by
a
big
margin,
but
it
can
be
tricky
against
a
team
that
has
just
had
such
a
result.
Such
results
can
often
jolt
the
players
into
action,
and
we
need
to
be
on
our
guard
against
them,”
he
said

Having
said
that,
the
head
coach
has
full
faith
in
his
boys
to
go
out
and
get
the
job
done.

“We
have
enough
quality
players
to
get
the
three
points,
and
that
is
what
we
always
set
out
to
do
–
no
matter
the
opposition.
It’s
the
three
points
that
matter
the
most
at
the
end
of
the
day,
and
that
is
what
we
are
after,”
said
Fernandes.

Maldives
head
coach
Ahmad
Shareef
feels
that
development,
and
not
results,
are
the
most
important
thing
for
his
side

“I’d
like
to
thank
the
organisers
for
hosting
us
in
these
qualifiers.
I
am
sure
everyone
has
worked
hard,
as
have
our
players.
Our
preparations
may
not
have
been
as
extensive
as
we
would
have
liked,
but
the
main
focus
for
us
is
to
get
these
boys
ready
for
the
next
level.
For
us,
the
development
aspect
is
very
important,
and
these
matches
are
crucial
for
that,”
said
Shareef.

A
total
of
43
teams
will
be
participating
in
the
AFC
U17
Asian
Cup
2023
Qualifiers
across
10
groups.
The
10
group
winners
will
guarantee
themselves
a
spot
in
the
competition,
while
six
best
second-placed
teams
will
also
join
them
in
2023.

Group
D
has
five
teams,
which
means
that
the
points
earned
and
goals
(scored
and
conceded)
against
the
fourth
and
fifth
placed
teams
will
not
be
considered,
while
calculating
the
six
best
second-placed
teams
across
the
10
groups,
since
Group
H
has
only
three
teams.

India’s
match
against
the
Maldives
will
kick
off
on
Tuesday
(October
4)
at
12:00am
IST.

Source:
AIFF